The majority of appointments are in the Advisory division (52 percent) with significant growth in Management Consulting, which saw 25 new partners added. Under the new leadership of David Linke, growth in the Tax practice attracted 9 new partners (15 percent). Continued strong growth of the Audit business drew 6 new partners (10 percent ); with Enterprise attracting 7 new partners (12 percent) and Shared Services 6 new partners (11 percent).

“Organisations are very much focused on transforming their businesses for these changing conditions, with strong demand from clients looking for new ways to drive growth, make productivity gains and enhance customer experience,” said KPMG Australia CEO, Gary Wingrove.

Reflecting the significant changes occurring in our marketplace and demand from clients, 23 appointments (38 percent) were to partners who have an innovation, transformation, technology or cyber focus.

“With the significant pace of change, our clients are seeking to understand the key disrupters on the horizon – including customer behaviour and technology driven innovation,” said Mr Wingrove. “The investment that we have made into top level talent enables us to better anticipate change and deliver the most relevant solutions,” he added.

The largest sector investments were to financial services, infrastructure, government and healthcare – with 25 new partners. There was also increased emphasis on human rights and social impact leadership, including the appointments of Richard Boele as partner of KPMG Banarra, and Catherine Hunter’s internal promotion heading the firm’s Corporate Citizenship programs.

This year 25 percent of the total number of new partners were female, with women comprising 39 percent of internal partner promotions.

Lateral (external) hires increased year-on-year to 40 percent of total hires. Fifty-three percent of appointments were from internal promotions; and seven percent from acquisitions.

New partners have been appointed in every state and territory across the country.

“We have a continued focus on attracting the top industry talent to come and work with us and add to the diversity of perspectives. We are proud that over half of our new partners were promoted from within, reflecting the quality of people we have at the firm,” said Mr Wingrove.